Missing sailing but appreciating a Cape Horn installation video

Posted By on December 6, 2020

Sometime the best part of keeping a daily blog is that provides a place to archive tidbits for future reference. The Sailing Uma “gear review” tagged YouTube clip on their channel has a fantastic installation video for the Cape Horn Wind Vane self-steering gear that I might need when taking apart ours for repair. Currently ours needs a new internal bushing and likely other parts.


Here’s a complete install video of our new Cape Horn Wind Vane http://capehorn.com/

We probably should have gone over this in the video. We’ve spent the last two years, researching and looking into pretty much every brand of vane out there. I think our decision boils down to 3 main points.

1: Aesthetics. We LOVE how clean and well designed the Cape Horn is. No external lines, no extra pipes and hardware hanging off the back. It just looks GOOD and functions even better. Sure, that means it takes a bit longer to install, but, you only have to install it once! Each unit is custom made to fit your boat like a well tailored suit. They can adapt them to mount on any transom in almost any position.

2: No external rudder. There is a running myth, that if you have a vane with it’s own rudder that it can act as a "back up" if your main rudder is ever damaged. But, to us, that logic doesn’t hold. Because unless the vane rudder is removed when your main one is damaged, it will most likely get damaged as well. Our rudder has a full skeg, and several is a full foot or two above the keel, so we would have to drift backwards into a cliff in order for it to be damaged. In which case the wind vane would be gone too!

3: Others reviews. We’ve read many blogs, forums, comments, and listened to people talk about their own wind vane experience, and we’ve heard many people complain about how their wind vane functions. "It’s picky", "it only works in certain conditions", "it’s hard to adjust or trim properly". Most of the boats we’ve talked to who have a vane installed never seem to use it, because an electronic pilot is so much "easier". Now, we haven’t seen as many Cape Horns out there, but the few people we’ve talked to, and the many comments we’ve read about them, not one complaint or trouble with them. That to us may have been the most important factor in our decision. They just seem to WORK! If your sails a well balance and trimmed, the Cape Horn will steer you though anything.

If you enjoyed this episode, please give it thumbs up, it helps us out a bunch 🙂

Sailing Uma

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  1. lacking in consistency, constancy, or visible order, disconnected; fitful: desultory conversation.
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